God of Death - Rewrite
by devil-reapess
Summary: After killing Voldemort and dying himself, Harry learns that being the master of death is more than a frivolous title and that he is now the god of death. One day he goes to the world of shinobi, where he is know as Jashin. He decides to be reborn in this world as none other than Umino Iruka. Rated M just in case, might change. Elements of slash. Rewrite/Updated version.
1. Prologue : World building

**God of Death**

 _Prologue_

He remembered the sudden pain, the joy turn to shock and quickly realization and sorrow. His enemy had been vanquished but his kin had betrayed him – No, that isn't right – not his kin, they wouldn't have killed him if that was what they were, they would have loved him as he had once loved them.

Next he remembered gaining memories, which were yet were not his own, learning what he had become, what he had always been, not just the master of death but it's god, ruling over it's many personifications as the true endless being. He remembered raging and destroying many Earths, his newly gained – or was it regained? – powers reacting with his emotions. Those who betrayed him were no more, until they were once more, when upon regaining control he reversed his actions.

He remembered leaving, running away from his past, locking it up and blocking all thoughts and memories, his old life a stain in his mind that he ignored despite it's poisoning of his character. He remembered living to forget, working, helping, the many incarnations of death with their worlds, either coming down as he is or being reborn as a being in that universe. He could be anything and everything, and he continued through a thirst of knowledge, through an inner desire to forget what those he had trusted had done to him.

He remembered that he once wore glasses, his eyes were different too, not as powerful, more natural than the green of pure death that they were now; his skin had once been tan, perhaps from time spent outside, but it had become as pale as a corpse.

He remembered scars that told a story, he remembered ripping them from his skin in another attempt to forget – Forget what he had been, what _they_ had done – instead his symbol marked his skin, a line, a triangle, a circle, nestled on his chest, where his heart would beat if he were still human.

He remembered messy hair, uncontrollable, that had not much changed, just ever growing and ever more uncontrolled, acting as a separate being entirely, it manifested that which he was, uncontrolled and unending, unyielding and vicious. Like a coiled snake stalking it's prey. His prey was knowledge, and his hair's was anything that dared stray too close.

He remembered a name, the one thing he never shed despite the many names he had gained since. Harry, was his first and his forever. Few other names struck a cord in his heart, they were meaningless titles, but yet so meaningful and wonderful, giving him more of a purpose than Harry ever had. Once such name of his was Jashin, it came from one of many worlds, falling from the lips of his worshippers.

He remembers being feared and hated before, and being feared and hated even more after his death, but he also recalled reverence and awe, people begging him to take or to spare, to bless or to curse. He felt purpose with such demands and it gave him distraction, allowed him to _feel_ and to act with little regard to what _they_ would have once told him to do.

Harry licked his lips as he witnessed the gory ritual being performed in his honour, his subject's companion did not feel the level of reverence and power entailed in the act but Harry felt every drop of it, and it intoxicated him. This particular universe was destructive and so beautiful. He had seen what would befall of it in the near future, and he could not simply let that perversion of death come to pass. A dark chuckle passed his lips before he could halt it and attention was brought to him, he could see the apprehension in his subject's companion and the absolute shock of his subject.

"Who are you?" The companion asked. Harry found him odd, he could see through his cloak to the masks and stitches and many hearts, humans were truly odd in their aversion to death, but he very rarely cared if they wanted to be immortal or not, so long as they remained few in number he would allow it.

"Jashin-sama..." His subject's whisper brought him out of his reverie. "A beautiful ritual once again my dearest, you do not disappoint in any way," He began then stood before his subject, "I warn you of interesting times to come, my dear Hidan." and with his parting words he was gone.


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

All was quiet within the hospital walls, a newborn baby slept peacefully and undisturbed, skin somewhat tanned and hair dark, the name written before his bed was Iruka, Umino Iruka. Harry pondered this as he stared down at the babe. "I apologise," he spoke softly, "but I require a body to do as I wish in this world, but I believe you will forgive me this once..." as he spoke his body turned to vapour, encircling the young human and absorbing into it's skin, a brief cry left it's body as a small soul left it and it's skin lost it's pigment, almost giving the appearance of death, yet blood still flowed and chest still rose, the master of death had a new body, and it fit perfectly as any would.

A sharp scream echoed through the maternity ward, as a young mother had to be comforted and consoled by nurses. "Calm down, your baby is not dead, see he's breathing, calm down," the nurse tried to quiet the woman to little avail. "How could he not be dead, look at his skin! So pale and nothing like yesterday!" the mother was almost hysterical in her words, then everything stopped, the babe's eyes opened, a shocking green peering our to the world, a glance was sent to the mother and time moved once more.

"Oh?" the mother spoke, noticing she was on the floor, "did something happen?" she questioned as the nurse helped her stand, "You are still weak from giving birth madam, you simply lost your balance," the nurse chastised, "Now you do want to hold your baby?" she added with a smile. "Of course! Where is my dear Iruka? Oh there he is! Such an adorable babe!" The mother gushed, fingers carefully touching the infant's hand, cooing at it's softness. It was as if nothing had happened before, the drastic change in appearance forgotten and unnoticed.

– POV Change –

It has been five years since I came to this world and entered this body, my body's parents, or I suppose I should say 'my' parents, are 'chunin', a level of ninja exhibited in this world, this means they are often out of missions, which is fine as it gives me time to properly acclimate to this body and the powers of this world, it would not do to appear more powerful than I should be, this would not be worth the trouble of dealing with at this stage of my life. This is because I have long developed a habit when it came to being reborn, as at the very least the first 10-11 years are to be spent in peace before I actually act. This makes it is easier to fit in and to act as I please later in time. It is also likely the only thing, other than my own being, that keeps me sane. I suppose it is also nice. I snap out of my musings as I near my destination, today I am headed for the Konoha training grounds, wherein which I will meet my current babysitter, a Namikaze Minato and his genin team, my parents being on a two-month mission. They were unimpressed at my proposition of home staying alone.

"Iruka-kun!" the man says my name with a smile as I approach with a nod of my head. "Good morning Namikaze-san, is it alright for me to read here while you do your training?" I say, noticing I seem to have interrupted some pseudo-mission of the three genin. "Of course Iruka-kun, hopefully we won't be to loud for you." Minato is a very smiley man, I remark to myself as he speaks. It is really a pity, the fate that awaits him, I would feel sorry if I had not been what I was, death is simply a part of life and his soul will have another chance in a different plane of existence.

Of course his promise is quickly broken when one of the three genin abandons the exercise in favour of speaking to me, Uchiha Obito I believe. One of the main reasons for my current presence in this world, he and that pesky ancestor of his will attempt to mess with the order of life. It is my duty in my boredom to stop him. Of course I could end it now by killing the two now but there is no fun in that. Closing the book I had been planning to read I fell into conversation with the genins and their mentor, making the realization that the next two months would not pass as quickly as I would like them to.

I am now eight years old, or at least my body is. After entering the Shinobi Academy I began being more involved in the person I will be in this world, focusing on perfecting my 'persona' while studying everything and anything that I could in my spare time. I decided to become a 'book-smart' person, with a love of traps and pranks, I may have been influenced by what this body's original soul life was meant to be but it was best for my course of action I realised, after all, who has a better influence on society than a teacher? Especially if one teaches the future soldiers and leaders? The original Iruka's life is my best option to form myself from.

The Kyubi is as beautiful as ever, I thought as I watched it ravage the village, it was with little surprise that I felt the souls of my parents extinguished, many will die today and I will feel each and every one, as is the curse of being the master of death. I felt a pang in my chest as the fourth Hokage used the Shinigami seal, summoning my true form before him. I could feel his and the Kyubi's awe at my presence and for the first time in a decade I let my wings spread and my hair flow free. "Iruka..." the hokage whispered in shock but I interrupted before more could be said, "In exchange for your soul you wish me to seal half into your child and half into you? Originally I would but it is simply easier to the Kyubi's entirety into your son." My words make him protest, but I have already begun the sealing.

"Do not worry, Namikaze, while your son will face hardship he will also love and be loved, his life will be long, probably much longer than you would expect, and he will not fault you for your actions this day." With those parting words I took his soul and returned to my body, Naruto left with nothing but the dead body that was his father.

I had stayed in the orphanage for a year before becoming a genin and returning to my parent's old house, Naruto had been announced as Jinchuuriki, a stupid but expected act, and was being kept hidden by the Third Hokage, however this was of no concern to me at this point. Of course no matter what any human tried Naruto would not die, for I had done something more than just seal the Kyubi into the boy, I had given him a blessing to let him live till twenty without risk of death. However there was little risk even after that, as I tweaked the seal to slowly merge the Kyubi and Naruto's existences, they would become lifelong companions in one body.

I suppressed a giggle wondering how they would react once they had realised what had happened, unintentionally frightening my genin team. Ignoring them I traced the scar on my nose, a wound caused by me leaving my body when sealing the Kyubi, it was just my luck I would land face first on a sharp stone.

I smiled as I accepted the title of chunin, not bad I thought for sixteen coming on too-old-to-count, I would likely not advance beyond this point, not because I couldn't, but because I had no desire to, my goal was to become an academy teacher, which is the job a chunin not a jounin so why should I become one? The chunin vest looked good on me also, fitting my outfit of a black sleeveless turtle-neck paired with long fingerless black gloves and black trousers. I wore a pair of new heeled sandals on my feet, not at all to compensate for my height, purely an aesthetic choice I tell you.

A few days later I was surprised when the Hokage offered me the job of head teacher at the Academy, of course this was my goal but still I did not see this coming so soon. "We have been having issues with bias and falling academy standards, based on your intelligence and neutrality I believed you were our best option to revitalise the academy." The hokage began, he had likely planned out an entire elaborate speech to convince me to take the job, the only question was if to humour him or just accept now. Going with option B I interrupt, "I accept," he gives me a startled look before I continue, "So long as you give me full control over any and all changes I make," now this was a point I would not move from, during my years of schooling I realised just how woefully unprepared the majority of my classmates were due to the lacking standards and what was actually taught.

After a brief chat I left his office and immediately set to creating a revamp of the schooling system. Three hours later I sat before him again as he read my proposal. "This took you three hours?" he asked and I blushed before I could help myself. It had been many centuries since I has felt nervous, it was likely because I had never been a teacher, a proper teacher, in any of my lives, and something about the idea made me feel giddy and good inside, it was a strange and foreign feeling, one I hadn't had since – oh, since my first life. I pushed this revelation to the back of my mind to focus on the situation at hand. I jostled out of my thoughts just as the hokage spoke again, "Iruka, I must say that you are truly a genius, and I will do everything to support you in implementing this change into the academy curriculum."


	3. Chapter 2

Just a warning, the next few chapters and stuff probably won't be out for a while, my dog who has been with me for the last fifteen years is being put down this week so I probably won't be in the state of mind to do anything, let alone write and post chapters - FLEA

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

The curriculum Iruka had designed was as simple as it was complex and it focused on teaching a whole plethora of skills. During the first year the students would be taught how to write and read properly, they started on purely theoretical work with some exercises to build up stamina and they would start using chakra with basic chakra control exercises, depending on how much they had. They must be told that being a shinobi isn't a game, skipping or slacking is not tolerated.  
In the second year they would start learning about poisons and how to identify them, as well as basic survival skills and history, they would also start more rigorous training. They would also be taught how to form hand signs. Bloodlines should be taught if a student has one.  
In the third year they would start learning about the more obscure arts such as fuinjutsu, kenjutsu, summoning, weapons, etc... They would also start learning about elemental chakra and different jutsus. They should be starting either the tree walking or water walking exercises.  
They would also be tested for what kind of taijutsu style suited their body and physical ability the most, they would then start basic lessons in medical jutsu, genjutsu, speed, stamina, strength, ninjutsu, taijutsu, fuinjutsu, kenjutsu, stealth, trap making, weaponry, poisons and anatomy in order to see what they excelled in. They must be taught to use Konoha sign language and Morse code.  
In the fourth year they would continue what they were doing during their third year and start learning basic E and D rank jutsu and genjutsu, and start on survival skills and teamwork.  
In the fifth year they would drop the classes they aren't good at, besides ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu, and start working on making shinobi careers with the classes they excel in. They would also be tested for their chakra nature, if they have one they would be taught basic manipulation if not they would continue as they did before. Team work exercises would be mandatory, teams assigned at random.  
In the sixth and final year they will be told of all the kinds of jobs they can have as shinobi and they should decide what to aim for, both genders will be taught about sex and seduction. Basic D-rank missions will be given out for teamwork exercises, elemental natures will be re-tested, water walking should be perfect, advanced chakra manipulation should be taught. The taijutsu that suits their bodies should be near perfect, with enough room for improvisation and expansions, basic torture techniques explained and they have to be talked to about death and killing, learn to stomach gore.

Iruka sighed, knowing it would take at least a month to get this all started up, even with the Hokage's approval, thus he was going to present this to the Shinobi council in order to get the process sped up.

After the Hokage introduced him, Iruka quickly passed copies of the curriculum around and waited for the council to finish reading the changes and what their children would be taught.

The shinobi council quickly found themselves astounded by the curriculum proposed by the newly minted chunin, even the basic overview showed it would ensure their children had a full range of skill and knowledge, it would also increase genin survival rates if successfully implemented. Even Danzo Shimura approved of the proposal, seeing it as a solid step towards the Konoha he envisioned, his approval effectively sealing the deal. "I will be calling on the help of both retired and non-retired shinobi, Jiraiya and Tsunade will also be requested to give aid in this project, I will also insist the topic of Jinchuuriki is taught early on" The Hokage's orders created a sense of finality, and Iruka could see the beginnings of his work being put into place.

Not even a year later everything had been implemented, and Naruto's status was both known and accepted, he even knew about the identity of his parents. There were a few issues but nothing Iruka could not handle. And as well as being the Head teacher Iruka now held the role of Student councillor and care-taker, establishing a student orphanage and giving special lectures on different topics, his main tasks were to keep things organised and take care of the children's issues and well being.

However it was at the three year mark that Iruka's efforts truly came to light, the students all being of mostly equal skill. Some stand outs including Naruto, due to his huge chakra and Jinchuuriki nature, Haruno Sakura, with her amazing chakra control, Hyuga Hinata, due to her bloodline and poison identification skills, and Uchiha Sasuke, easily the fastest and most agile student. Even the civilians showed true potential and skill.

* * *

It was now the First Generation's final year, first generation being what the first full graduates of the new curriculum were named, and they had chosen their intended goals. Currently Iruka was filling out a progress report on the children:

Naruto wished to be either Hokage or a front-line fighter, being skilled in stealth, trap making, fuinjutsu, ninjutsu and taijutsu, and average in weapons, poisons and chakra manipulation. His elemental nature was wind and his chosen weapon a chokuto, his taijutsu style relied on strength, speed and his use of shadow clones, he was starting to learn how to use the kyubi's chakra.

Sakura is aiming for medic-nin or genjutsu specialist along with being a heavy hitter or hunter-nin. She had been picked up by Tsunade because of her high chakra control and taught how to power her limbs with chakra. She is skilled in poisons, anatomy, medic jutsu, genjutsu and chakra manipulation, and average in stealth, ninjutsu, taijutsu and weapons. Her elemental nature is earth and her chosen weapon is senbon, her taijutsu relies on chakra control, poisons, strength and stamina. She had recently found out that she was immune to any mind jutsu as she had the beginning of a bloodline, having a second personality/entity, in her mind.

Hinata is aiming for being a clan head, ambassador or interrogation specialist. She is skilled in fuinjutsu, anatomy, taijutsu, weapons and poisons, and average in ninjutsu, genjutsu, medic jutsus and chakra manipulation. Her elemental nature is water and her chosen weapons are chakra strings and knifes, her taijutsu relies on flexible movements, a combination of the gentle fist and the snake style, she doesn't require the byakugan for it. Her water manipulation isn't as good as most but she can create small amounts from the air.

Sasuke is aiming for ANBU commander or Stealth specialist. He is skilled in Stealth, taijutsu, speed, ninjutsu, speed and chakra manipulation, and average in weapons, genjutsu, anatomy and poisons. His elemental nature is lightning and his chosen weapon is a katana, his taijutsu relies on his speed, stealth and agility and his katana. His lighting manipulation is not note worthy.

Shikamaru is aiming for Jounin commander or head strategist. He is skilled in strategy, ninjutsu, genjutsu, anatomy and poisons, and is average in fuinjutsu, weapons, chakra manipulation and speed. His elemental nature is fire and his weapon of choice is a staff, his taijutsu relies on his shadows, speed and having a team mate. His fire manipulation is average, his ability with his clan jutsu is astounding and he has the makings of a master strategist.

Kurama Yakumo is aiming for genjutsu specialist or interrogation specialist. She is skilled in Genjutsu, weapons, anatomy, poisons and chakra manipulation, and average in taijutsu, ninjutsu, stealth, medic jutsu and trap making. Her elemental nature is lightning and her weapon of choice is bow and arrow, her taijutsu relies on immobilizing the opponent by any means necessary. Her lighting manipulation is above average and her control over her blood line is astounding, her genjutsu near impossible to break through.

Hasouri Ami is aiming for undercover work. She is skilled in stealth, poisons, infiltration, taijutsu and genjutsu, and average in fuinjutsu, medic jutsu, anatomy, speed and weapons. Her elemental nature is earth and her weapon of choice is a bladed fan, her taijutsu relies on distraction, stealth and speed. Her earth manipulation is average, she has complete mastery over the henge technique, enough to make it solid and undetectable, her ability in infiltration is frankly astounding.

Iruka sighed as he continued writing the reports by hand, he really wished this world had advanced far enough to have computers, but alas! It was not meant to be. His project had turned into a great success and to be truthful he felt proud of himself, because as a being of death and destruction being able to raise and inspire children like this felt like a pipe dream. He has realised that he had changed somewhat in the past few years, more than he had changed in aeons, and it scared him, did this mean he was finally overcoming the stain left by his first life? Before he had the chance to dwell on this thought he was interrupted. "Iruka-sensei!" one of his students yelled, glancing at the door Iruka saw some of the students from Class A (there were three classes in each year group, each consisting of 20-25 students). "Can I help you brats?" he asked, Naruto, their apparent spokesperson answered "We came here to hang out! Hope you don't mind!" rolling his eyes Iruka beckoned them in, watching bemused as they slunk around his office to find somewhere comfortable to sit and talk. He almost felt sad, knowing that in a year's time they would all be genin and away from the safety of his classroom, but he knew that this was a part of growing up, and he knew it was unlikely they would ever forget him completely, especially considering he occasionally helped out in the mission room, allowing plenty-a-chance to see them again.

* * *

Most of the early chapters will seem rushed and that's mostly because the purpose of them is to set up a comprehensive back story for when the plot really starts rolling, which will be during and after the time skip between Naruto and Shippuden, however dialogue is likely to seem stilted and rough, mostly because I'm really bad a writing dialogue at this stage in time.

\- FLEA


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"Today you are the first graduating group of Konoha's advanced curriculum, there isn't much left for me so say to you except for this; starting now you are real shinobi, this means you will be facing potential death everyday from now on out, and there won't always be someone to rescue you. You must now rely on yourself and you comrades in order to survive this world. Some of you may die and some will not, some may reach jounin some may not etcetera. Regardless you must focus on your goal and keeping working towards it and towards being the best you can be and become a shinobi worthy of bringing pride to Konoha." It was with a heavy breath that Iruka finished his opening speech, after one last look at his students he began the team assignments. "...Team Six, Ami, Sai and Yakumo. Team Seven, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. Team Eight, Hinata, Kiba, Shino. Team Nine is still in circulation. Team Ten, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji..." Once he finished he let out a breath, looking at each group separately he informed them that, "Your jounin sensei will arrive to pick you up after lunch, I will be staying here until you've all left, is that understood?"

A chorus of 'Yes sir' rang through the classroom before the genin left to eat and acclimate to their new team-mates. They had all changed drastically since they had entered the academy doors at age six, twelve in particular stood out, those being team six through ten, all advancing and changing at tremendous levels(Deviantart link on my profile for appearances).

* * *

Three hours later, two hours after the end of lunch, Iruka was prepared to kill, team seven's jounin sensei was beyond late, the last team having left over an hour ago. Team seven were already losing respect for the man and they hadn't even met the pompous ass yet. Iruka rued the day Hatake Kakashi adopted his not-so-dead team mate's attitude on tardiness, the stoic prick having changed drastically since Iruka had met him during his two months of being babysitted by the fourth Hokage's team. If only he could have told the guy Obito was alive without causing a whole slew of other problems. Feeling Hatake's approach Iruka quickly activated the seal on the classroom door, effectively covering the jounin in flour the second he opened the door.

As the genin sat in shock, and the jounin gaped inconspicuously Iruka laughed out loud, enjoying his chance of one-upping the man.

"Is there any reason for the greeting Iruka-kun?" Hatake asked nonchalantly, hiding a glare far too obvious to Iruka's senses. "Just that it is very disrespectful to show up this late to a meeting, Hatake-sensei." The chunin master of death retorted, green eyes glaring while his face fell into a practice smile of innocence. "Good to see you old habits haven't been affected by you settling down..." Hatake murmured causing Iruka to choke, "What-What the hell do you mean by THAT! Hatake!" he half-stuttered, half-yelled, face flushing red due to the jounin's choice of words.

"I meant the fact that you are still a chunin after six years, effectively settling as a chunin, Academy or not." The one-eyed menace said with a shrug, "Just say it normally then..." Iruka sighed, then turned to the genin, "This is your sensei, good luck with him, I'll be handing my report in to the Hokage." with one final glare to Kakashi, Iruka left the room.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Iruka, three identical glares turned on Kakashi upon his exit, "Yes?" Kakashi asked after a slow blink, 'if looks could kill I would be ash' he mused to himself, and Naruto stepped forwards. "Stay away from Iruka-sensei," the boy snarled, "A pervert like you doesn't deserve to be in his presence, you'll only sully it." The snarl was copied by his team-mates and it took all of Kakashi's effort to not blatantly drop his jaw at them. All three genin sent a pointed look at the orange book in his hand and Kakashi realised he should run to Iwa begging for a mercy killing the second the Hokage suggested he take a genin team.

* * *

Iruka sighed, it had been only a day yet he already worried for his kids, especially seeing how much he had changed the timeline of this world, he had little knowledge of how his presence had changed things long term, already was it vastly different to how it was originally when he had met his follower and entered this world, Iruka had to force down a pout when he realised it would be another three years at minimum before he could seek out his devoted follower, he did not believe the timeline had changed enough for that. Twisting out of bed Iruka stretched whilst being careful not to wake his bedmate.

His appreciating eyes trailed down what was visible of the lean, tall, and muscular male body that lay on the bed, silver hair loose and untidy, Iruka could still feel the pleasant tingle in his body in reminder of last nights activities. Iruka smiled as the would-be traitor slumbered peacefully, not a thought of betraying Konoha to Orochimaru having ever passed through his mind since Iruka had found out about the later contacting him. Iruka was after all loyal to the village – or at least his students and they were loyal to the village so... Of course Mizuki could be frustrating, seeing as how he has been absolutely terrified of Iruka ever since, it could be amusing until people questioned his behaviour around the lithe Headteacher, luckily most concluded that Mizuki must be in love with Iruka. Not that there was much love, Mizuki simply treated him like the God he was, a being worthy of awe and worship.

Quickly dressing Iruka left to the Hokage's office, the man having asked him to return when he had handed in the reports. "Ah, just on time Iruka-kun," the aged man spoke and and the gathered jounin jumped, not having noticed Iruka's entrance, almost cringing at the fact they had not noticed a mere chunin enter. "It has been discussed by me and the council that it is about time for you to take the jounin exam and become a jounin," The hokage began but was interrupted, "But what about the Academy-!" Iruka started but stopped when motioned to. "You may choose your successor, we recently learned from a reliable source that Orochimaru is planning to attack the village and we need as many competent active jounin in place to prepare for this." Orochimaru's name made whispers break out throughout the room. "It is plainly obvious that you have more than enough potential to become a jounin, and while I do not know the reason for why you never took the exam of your own volition, a promotion is more than long overdue." The Hokage's words were followed by a murmur of agreement throughout the room. Iruka however clenched his fist in a mixture of shock and annoyance, this was not going according to plan, he had envisioned another three years before he needed to seriously act, he hadn't expected for the timeline to change enough for the Hokage to learn about Orochimaru, if this had changed who knows what else. And worst of all he had obviously grown lax in hiding his skills while running the academy (or maybe it was the academy that made them realise). The only platitude of this situation is that he could appoint Mizuki as his replacement, the man would follow his word as law so would still hold effective control over the place. "Understood Hokage-sama, I will do as you say." Iruka replied with a bow.

To be honest Iruka had been growing more bored since the first generation had reached their final year, it was about time for him to begin another project to amuse himself, the Hokage may have just given him the opportunity to create one.

* * *

Iruka hid a scowl as he entered the large arena, he did not recall consenting to such a large spectacle of an exam, normally the jounin exam's were small and private, but it was likely meant as a show of strength, considering the number of foreigners in the stands. A smile did come onto his face however upon recognising his students in the stands, obviously there to cheer him on, some even carrying smalls banners with his name. "Here goes nothing," he muttered, joining the line of other jounin hopefuls, looking the least excited of the lot, which was impressive considering an Aburame was present. By cheer luck his fight was first so he had to spend the least amount of time sitting around. Unlike for the chunin exams there wasn't a tournament system where you battled multiple times, you simple battled once in the arena and moved on to a more private secondary test, after all can't show the foreigners all our cards.

Moving into place Iruka recognised his former academy classmate, Inuzuka Hana, the woman and her three ninken had been much like her brother and mother before, but it appears she had calmed down significantly since their academy days. Less than a second after the call to start did his opponents begin their attack, surrounding Iruka on all sides. Hana barely had the chance to blink before Iruka smirked and a flash bomb went off.

– POV Change –

I remembered Umino Iruka somewhat from the academy but he was more well known due to his revamp of the academy, and from before even then when the male had torn victoriously through the chunin exams. I had been defeated by someone else so never had the opportunity to face him in battle, despite us being promoted together. He was known as a dangerous opponent, many had expected him to succeed the jounin exam as easily as he had the chunin but the male had seemingly settled into being a chunin academy teacher, he honestly seemed to believe he was quite average.

Knowing he was a dangerous opponent I decided to strike as quickly as possible, pouncing the second we were told to begin, however before I could do much more my sight was blinded by a bright light, and less than a second later I was being thrown across the arena, quickly regaining my bearings my ninken surrounded me as looked around for the slightest hint of Iruka's presence, he was nowhere to be seen, I couldn't even smell him.

A pain erupted in my gut before I noticed the air ripple around me, Iruka emerging as if from water, one fist in my gut the other holding a paper seal, I tried to fight back but the seal was placed on my head and I blacked out.

– POV Change –

Iruka was almost disappointed by how easy that had been, his flash bomb allowing him to use a combination of his magic and wind jutsu to blow Hana away, followed by a mild genjutsu along with his power of invisibility he snuck up on her to punch her in the gut and place the sealing tag on her head to knock her out. As boring as it was, all his fights went like this, he had yet to find someone in this world to challenge him, but equally he had only really fought with bandits, genin and chunin up to this point. Yes, this may have inflated his ego a bit but it is difficult not to feel confident after such easy wins, maybe that was one of the factors leading to people realising he was stronger than he wanted them to know...


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Iruka smiled as he was surrounded by his former students as they celebrated his win, disappointingly easy as it was, and his new promotion to Jounin. He twitched slightly however as he recalled the after effects of his battle.

– Earlier –

Had he known showing off like that would cause trouble he wouldn't have done it, and now he's in this position, standing in the Hokage's office before the Hokage himself, his two advisers and Danzo Shimura, someone who occasionally reminded him of someone he'd like to forget, who were talking (read arguing) about how they should have noticed Iruka's skills sooner and trained him to be an ANBU operative etcetera. When they finally _graced_ him with their attention, asking why he had hidden his skills, he easily deflected with the excuse of being to focused on the Academy to think about himself, also considering he hadn't been in real-life battle since his chunin exam. Danzo seemed unconvinced while the Hokage was willing to let the excuse slide by. Iruka decided then it would probably be best to avoid the decrepit man in the near, or distant, future.

– Now –

Danzo somewhat unsettled him, being too similar to someone he hated, and Iruka also worried he may hurt his prized students, the thought of which infuriates him. The easiest way to escape the situation was to fake his death but Iruka enjoyed his current life too much by this point to just give it up because of one little hiccup.

Pulled out of his musings by Naruto he replied to the boy, "C-rank outside of the Land of Fire? Hatake-sensei must be confident with your progress to have taken this mission." The trio grinned at him in pride, he was actually impressed, as despite the general increase of genin skill levels jounin sensei were still too nervous to take them on such large missions so soon. As he spoke with his students he made note of the lingering jounin watching, studying, him. Some with more heated gazes than others. But he chose to ignore them in favour of his students.

* * *

The following morning found Iruka pleasantly sore, from a night of celebratory activity with Mizuki, a promotion gift far too good to resist. Spelling his clothes on he prepared for what would be his first mission as a jounin, a sort of final test for him. A solo B-rank to take out a group of bandits lingering around Konoha, the large group had already amounted a body count and as such had to go. The mission was expected to take a week, giving him two days to arrive, three to kill, and two to return, but seeing as he was going in unsupervised he would just get there and dispose of the humans in the first day or two and report back on the fourth day as a success and go back at a leisurely pace.

It was quite simple. Transporting himself there, the only dilemma he faced was how to kill them, for he could just take their souls with no effort but that would be too obvious, after some deliberation he decided to just use shadow clones and slit all their necks while they slept. It was as easy as expected. And if all had gone according to plan the next six days would have been a mini holiday for him but by the three day mark he received an urgent order to give backup to team seven after their mission had been bumped up to A-rank due to an encounter with Zabuza, the demon of the mist and Hatake's incomprehensible decision to continue the mission.

This summed up Iruka's trail of thought as he immediately headed for the location, but not so fast as to cause suspicion. And of course the second he arrived he beat the crap out of Hatake for daring to place his precious students in danger. Or at least he would have, if the idiot wasn't bed ridden from chakra exhaustion. Instead Iruka settled for confiscating the man's choice of literature to motivate his recovery, which miraculously took only a day rather than the expected week.

* * *

Kakashi didn't know which deity he had pissed of (Hint, it was Harry) when he discovered that his backup would be the newly promoted Iruka, which meant the list of people wanting to kill him had increased beyond Zabuza and his goons to include his three students in their quest to protect their precious 'sensei' from their actual sensei.

He also could not understand how Iruka seemed entirely oblivious to the death stares directed at Kakashi by the genin whenever he stepped anywhere near the younger man. The entire situation was almost mended as Iruka's presence meant he would temporarily take over his genin's training and the two would be sharing a room.

In fact while he may have previously been overjoyed at sharing with the new jounin, it was upon realising he would be staying in the tantalizing man's room without the ability to actually act on any desire he might have, that Kakashi decided the next few days would be the opposite of pleasant. Instead of staring at Iruka as he licked his lips, Kakashi decided the healthy choice was to feign sleep and not so much as look at the other man.

* * *

Other than being stuck in close quarters with Hatake, Iruka actually found some good in being so far from Konoha, as it allowed him unlimited access to Naruto and his seal, it was near impossible to touch the thing without being detected in Konoha. As such he decided to use this opportunity to explain the child and demon fox what their seal actually did, rather than what it was believed to do by the humans.

* * *

Naruto stirred in his sleep and noticed Iruka sitting besides him, before he could speak however his former sensei placed a hand upon his stomach and he was elsewhere, a place that appeared as a sewer in which stood a giant cage. "Kyubi no Kitsune..." Naruto breathed out the words as he stared in awe at the powerful being that was sealed within him. **"What brings you here, brat."** The demon rumbled, Naruto shuddered at the sheer power of the fox's voice. "I brought him here," Naruto blinked at the voice, turning he saw Iruka-sensei, or at least someone that looked like him. To Naruto's surprise the mighty fox seemed to react to the man – beings? – presence by bowing his head. **"How may I serve you, oh great God of Death?"** The fox spoke almost reverently, as if in awe of the being before him, and Naruto could understand why he was, an aura of _something_ emanated from the being besides him.

"When I sealed you within this babe over a decade ago I included a gift in the seal, the two of you are merging, to become one being with two consiouses, a demon in human form. This process will complete on the boy's twentieth year of life, and you will be blessed with immortality." The beings voice was soft but Naruto could hear the power beneath them, even if the words themselves shocked him. As they told a truth no one would have expected to hear, now or in decades yet to come. Before either he or the Kyubi could speak, protest, something, the being was gone and the two were left to speak, as this was the start of an endless companionship.

Naruto never did correlate Iruka's presence that night with the mysterious being that had been in the seal, for his mind was too distracted and too far away to see that which was directly before him in that instance.

* * *

A week later the mission was complete, Gato having betrayed and been killed by Zabuza and the later leaving without much of a fight. The three genin and two jounin used the newly constructed bridge to return to the land of fire, effectively reducing the length of travel by many days.

The love, Iruka realised, between Naruto and ramen was the purest love of all, as he sat besides the teen, his once full wallet achingly empty, Sakura and Sasuke ate at a more sedate pace on his other side. Hatake had been summoned to the Hokage's office to give report and told to stay as he was scolded for his decision to continue the mission, regardless of the outcome being a good one in the end.

Iruka was settling quite happily into his new rank and that which it entailed, enjoying the current peace of the land, knowing it would not last upon the arrival of the chaos that were the chunin exam and the invasion of Sound. But he did not mind, for as the embodiment of death and destruction, chaos was his favourite thing.


	6. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry for the long time without an update but I've just moved house for uni and in between not having any internet or wifi, I needed to focus on my registration and other frustrating things. Anyhoo, enjoy.

* * *

 _Chapter 5_

Iruka felt impatient, the second stage of the chunin exams had begun and he had been assigned to patrol the Forest of Death, this in itself was fine for him as he fully intended to encounter Orochimaru, he had spent the last twenty two years in a passive role and he was itching for a proper fight. His impatience stemmed from how the snake sannin had yet to act towards Sasuke and as such Iruka could strike just yet. He couldn't just attack what appeared to be a genin without prior reason, that would cause problems for the village and in turn him.

Luck struck him however, as Orochimaru had attacked, all that was left was to find the right timing to jump in, preferably before the creep placed his seal on Sasuke like he had planned.

* * *

Team seven attempted to fight back against the genin but she was much stronger than she appeared, easily throwing off anything they had. When one of Sasuke's fireballs hit their mark they almost rejoiced, only to stop in horror at the sight of a fake face being pulled off to reveal the missing-nin, Orochimaru. Before they could even blink the man's neck extended and sprung towards Sasuke, mouth open with gleaming fangs ready to bite down on it's target.

A loud crack resonated throughout the area as Iruka appeared and blasted the man away from the children. "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you have your scrolls, retreat to the tower and warn the Hokage that Orochimaru is in the village, go! Now!" Iruka ordered, his back to his students as he faced the snake sannin, the trio quickly nodded, doing as told with little but a glance behind them, they trusted Iruka to be able to take care of himself.

"And what makes you think you can hold me back boy? A newly made jounin like you?" Orochimaru taunted, attempting to shake Iruka's confidence, the man found himself startled however when Iruka's only response was a blood thirst smirk, killing intent suddenly filled the area, so dark and overbearing that Orochimaru had to take a step back, 'What is this, I'm sweating like a genin at his killing intent,' Orochimaru instinctively swallowed at his inner thoughts, not even the Kyubi's aura had been so overbearing.

"You... what are you?" suspicion filled the snake-like man at Iruka's simple chuckle in response. "Your," Iruka began, "Worst," he took a step forward, "Nightmare." Pouncing towards the snake sannin, fist pulled back to punch, he struck at Orochimaru's gut, relishing in the resulting crunch and blood spat out of the man's mouth, retreating as a sharp sword was moved to behead him. "You are slower than expected, could it be that little me caught you off guard? The big scary snake sannin so easily beat?" Iruka chimed tauntingly, causing Orochimaru to snarl, teeth stained red in his own blood. Orochimaru jumped up high whilst rapidly forming hand signs, raining down a barrage of jutsus at Iruka, whom simply dodged everyone while following the fleeing man.

Quickly tiring of the ordeal Iruka summoned a large black scythe and swung it at the snake sannin, pushing chakra through the blade allowed a blade of pure chakra to hit the man, cleaning cutting him in half. Iruka frowned in disappointment as he realised he had been chasing a mud clone and he quickly turned to head back to the tower, the scythe dissolving in his hand.

– POV Change –

I gasped for breath as I pulled myself out of the puddle of muddy water that had once been my clone, had I made the switch even a second later I could have been dead. I was petrified at having come so close to death, I hadn't felt this weak since my genin days, the feeling of pure terror one can only find when in a battle against your better. But how could I, Orochimaru the snake sannin, betrayer of Konoha and one of the most powerful being alive, be out matched by a man who only recently became a jounin, one who had never even experienced a war?

My body shivered as I recalled the frightening killing intent, that likely would have killed any lesser being on it's own. This was a variable I had never expected, and my spy in Konoha had never mentioned anyone of such strength, especially not that particular chunin turned jounin. 'Wait. Did this mean no one knew of the man's ability? Could that be it? But then why would he reveal it to me?' I shook my head to clear the stray thoughts and instead focused on returning to my shelter, I would worry on this matter another time. For now I must continue the rest of my plan.

– POV Change –

Kakashi's stomach had been filled with dread since Team seven returned with the news that Orochimaru was within the forest and Iruka had stayed behind to stop him. While Iruka had shown he was more powerful than previously expected that did not mean the new jounin was prepared or even capable of battling against the snake sannin, if it were not for his orders to stay and guard the genin he would have run out in search of Iruka alongside the ANBU. They had been gone for over thirty minutes now and feeling more and more worried when the ANBU finally returned, an injured, but alive Iruka with them. Quickly offering to help Kakashi carried the exhausted looking ninja to the infirmary to be looked over by a group of medic-nin.

* * *

When Iruka had felt the ANBU nearing him he knew he had to act fast. No one would be believe he had chased away Orochimaru unscathed, so he did the only thing he could, summon a poisoned blade and stab himself in the side, allowing blood to spray over the clearing. Vanishing the blade and using his magic to create a convincing pool of blood he lay down and waited for the ANBU to arrive, fixing a pained expression on his face.

* * *

Team seven watched the medic nin surrounding their beloved teacher, shouting orders and scrambling to stop the bleeding. "He's lost a lot of blood!", "Check for poisons! Orochimaru is known for using poisoned blades!", "Get some chakra pills! His coils are exhausted!", many shouts echoed throughout the area and trio couldn't help but fear for their sensei's life. While they understood death was a part of a shinobi's life they had never expected to see their sensei in such a vulnerable state. Before they could move closer Kakashi-sensei intercepted them and took them out of the room. Leaving Iruka-sensei alone with the medics.

* * *

While Iruka's body may have been unconscious his mind was not, unlike the panicking medics he simply relaxed and allowed his body to heal alongside the medics administrations, ensuring no actual permanent damage would be done to his body, if only his parents had some form of healing bloodline that would have made times like these easier, no need for fake injuries or fake recovery time. He did feel slight guilt however for making his students worry for him. But without an injury he would be hard pressed to explain his encounter with Orochimaru, he couldn't outright state he had terrified the man into running away. Holding back a sigh he allowed himself to relax, at least between now and the third stage of the exam he could take a break.


	7. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

While Iruka was in a medically induced coma the finalists for the chunin exams were decided, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Shino the only of the first generation to pass the preliminaries, as they had all been matched against each other, and not enough earth and air scrolls were available for everyone. The only other Konoha nin to pass was Hyuga Neji, the last four were the Suna siblings and a sound genin called Dosu.

– POV Change –

My eye twitched when a sudden light hit my face, my lips pulling down into a grimace, "Who does that sun think it is? To disturb my rest?" I muttered under my breath, hand moving to shield my eyes. "IRUKA-SENSEI!" A loud weight cried, landing right on the stab wound I had yet to heal. Cleaning the crust from my eye I peered down at the smiling child, "Yes Naruto?"

"You're awake!"

"Yes I noticed that," while I loved the child he was far too loud for my freshly awoken self, no sleep is better than a coma after all. Before I had the chance to address him further the hospital door was thrown open, I had been wondering where the other kids were. 'So adorable,' I couldn't help but think as they all piled around me, attempting to get as close as possible. "How did the rest of the task go after my incident?" I spoke casually, a smile on my face as I gazed at the children I had all but raised. "I was okay," Kiba frowned, his nose scrunching up, "It would have been better if you had been able to watch."

"Ah, I'm sorry to have missed it then." Like hell did I miss it, just because my body was in a coma did not mean I would miss seeing how they had progressed, to see if their jounin sensei had actually done them any good. As we spoke some more I noticed the approach of the Hokage, his ANBU guard, and some jounin, Tsunade was also there, she had likely become in charge of my injury after I had been transferred over from the tower.

"Iruka-kun, I see you are awake," The elderly Hokage spoke as he entered my room, some of my student's jounin sensei followed him upon entrance. I wonder if events will follow the same path from here, if the snake sannin will succeed in killing the Hokage this time. Hiding my thoughts I give a gentle smile, "How can I help you Hokage-sama?"

"I see you are recovering well." the man said instead of answering the question, moving to sit on a nearby chair. "We have much to discuss, would you mind leaving?" the second part of his statement was addressed to the genin, the first part however made me raise my guard, they couldn't have realised I had stabbed myself, right?

The genin, unwilling to question the elderly Hokage, quickly left the room, waving goodbye to me as they headed out the door. Careful not to show my suspicion I turned to fake the Hokage. "What did you want to discuss, Hokage-sama?" I begin carefully, positioning myself to properly face the man. "What happened in the forest Iruka-kun?" ah yes, I had been expecting that question.

"I'm somewhat fussy on the details myself, but from what I remember I managed to intervene and prevent Orochimaru from biting Sasuke-kun, after that I told team seven to head for the tower to inform their superiors. I was able to distract Orochimaru long enough for them to get away but not before I was stabbed by him, I don't recall much beyond that." One of the jounin, I believe her name was Anko, reacted quite visibly when I mentioned the bite, she was likely one of Orochimaru's victims.

"Would it be possible for you to let Inoichi-kun view the memory in your head." The Hokage asked and I almost visibly relaxed. 'So this is what they were after' I thought, this would definitely clear any suspicion of lies from my part, "Of course Hokage-sama, whatever you ask." I replied. With little warning after my giving of consent I felt the probe of a Yamanaka's chakra on the fringes of my mind, careful not to arouse suspicion I let the man in to view the memory.

– POV Change –

Inoichi found himself in the forest of death, watching Iruka jump out to intercept Orochimaru's attack and send off the genin, it was from this point that he paid special attention to detail. Some people had expressed their scepticism at Iruka's survival of the encounter with Orochimaru, some accusing the former teacher of being the snake sannin's spy, which was why they had gone to question him the moment he awoke, his presence ensuring any lies would be felt out, after all memories could not be faked or altered. Shaking away his own thoughts Inoichi concentrated on the encounter, so far it was going as Iruka had said, he was sending out attacks not necessarily to injure but to delay the powerful ninja, manoeuvring him away from the direction of the tower towards the area in which the ANBU had found him stabbed.

"What makes you think you can defeat me boy? A newly made jounin like you?" The sannin taunted, stopping another of the teacher's jutsus with a laugh, "Nothing," Iruka gasped, "My only goal was to allow team seven to escape." The jounin leaned against a tree, visibly out of breath. Inoichi saw Orochimaru visibly bristle as the man realise he had been distracted from his original target. "Foolish boy, I shall kill you for this!" the snake man hissed in anger, flashing forwards and stabbing Iruka in the stomach, the later gasping in shock as he doubled over, blood almost showered over the clearing as Orochimaru withdrew, it was clear he intended to finish the job when the presence of ANBU was felt. A snarl formed on the missing-nin's face as he fled the area.

Inoichi noticed the memory was becoming distorted, as occurred when one came close to passing out, the memory completely faded just as the ANBU arrived at the scene.

Catching his breath after withdrawing from the young jounin's mind, Inoichi addressed the Hokage, "It happened just as he described Hokage-sama." his words allowed the slight tension in the room to dissipate.

– POV Change –

While the others were glad Iruka had not been a spy, Iruka himself was less interested in the current situation, instead he pondered on what he had gleaned from Inoichi himself as the man was inside his mind. 'I wonder who exactly accused me working for Orochimaru,' the god of death felt a flash of annoyance going through his body at the thought of such an accusation, 'How dare a mere human doubt me, when I have never shown ill will for this place.' his musings were cut short however when the hospital door opened once more. 'I seem very popular today', he could not help but think, as Mizuki entered carrying a bag. "Sorry to interrupt Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun informed that Iruka had woken up so I took it upon myself to get him a change of clothes." The man said bowing to the Hokage in respect.

– POV Change –

'Who is he to bring Iruka clothes.' Kakashi thought from the corner he stood in as the other silver haired man entered the room. He grit his teeth behind his mask as Mizuki took the other seat available beside Iruka's bed, placing the bad on the bedside table. "Thank you Mizuki," Iruka said, Kakashi had to hold back a scoff when chunin all but preened at the praise. It seemed almost painfully apparent to everyone in the room that Mizuki was infatuated with Iruka, and it pissed Kakashi off to be honest, not that he would admit to it.

– POV Change –

Iruka resisted rolling his eyes at Mizuki's behaviour, ever since he had let the man see some of his true strength he had become like a puppy wanting it's master's approval. That's not to say he despised the behaviour, as currently Mizuki was the only one he could act however he wanted around and was the only one that worshipped him as the God he is. The other humans seeing him as no more than a decently powered man, and while that was his disguise he was hard pressed to hide his irritation at being addressed as a child by people millennia younger than him. The only human he couldn't hide his ire against was Hatake, as the man held barely any visible respect for anyone, always acting as if Harry were meant to be impressed by him.

Mizuki, upon noticing Iruka's annoyance building as his thoughts wondered quickly moved to calm him down, Iruka had already been under suspicion for hiding his strength and surviving an encounter with Orochimaru, his chakra acting out now would cause undue problems, as such Mizuki moved to gently grab the God's hand, if only to ground him into reality. "How is your injury Iruka?" He asks, ignoring the attention given to the positioning of his hand. "It feels fine, but I haven't been told the extent of it yet." Iruka's reply seemingly startles Tsunade into action.

"They found you in time Umino-san, it may scar slightly but you will recover with no side effects," The medic quickly informs the injured man, picking up his chart from the end of the bed, "The chakra exhaustion you suffered as well as the poison in the wound meant we had to keep you in a medically induced coma while you healed." The woman explains, prompting Iruka to thank her. "Well, seeing as Iruka-kun is fine, I believe we should take our leave." The hokage speaks again, standing and heading for the door, motioning for the others to follow him and leave, which they quickly do leaving Iruka and Mizuki alone.

Pulling his hand from Iruka's, Mizuki quickly stands and bows, "I apologise for touching you without permission-!" he lets out a cry and falls to his knees as a shock runs through his body. Looking up at Iruka he sees electrical sparks run along the man's hand and arm. "You should know better than doing that Mizuki," Iruka begins, his eyes staring the kneeling man down, "However I will forgive you this once, do not do that again if you know what is good for you." Iruka turns away and Mizuki quickly stands. "Of course, I apologize Iruka-sama, I will take my leave now." with a quick bow the chunin quickly exits the room, heaving a relieved sigh once outside, thankful his punishment had not been worse.

* * *

Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly in his irritation as he took out his frustration on one of the training dummies. A kunai piercing through it's body as he thought of the way Mizuki had touched Iruka's hand, so easily and intimately without permission, almost as if the man's one sided infatuation wasn't so one sided. He couldn't understand what made Iruka prefer Mizuki over him, as while they were both the same age and had silver/white hair, he was a jounin, former ANBU, as well as highly ranked in the bingo book and famous as the copycat nin and Mizuki a chunin. But no matter how he showed off in front of the former teacher Kakashi had never received any response other than annoyance. Taking a breath to calm himself, Kakashi resolved himself to not stop wooing Iruka from that point forward, even if it killed him.

* * *

Note: I apologise for long lack of update but starting uni, amongst other things, has slowed down my writing to almost full stop, and I forgot about having already written this chapter months ago, I probably won't be updating quickly but I will eventually unless I say otherwise.

\- Devil-reapess


	8. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Iruka stood shirtless before the mirror in his room, he fingers trailing along the scar in his side, "How ugly," he sneered, "While I can't get rid of the one on my face, you I can erase," his eyes brightened and the scar began to shrink in on itself, quickly disappearing without a trace. 'Much better,' he muses, stretching his body and touching the now smooth spot. A flutter of feathers could be heard at the window, one of the Hokage's messenger hawks had come with an urgent notice, for a meeting to be held in five minutes with all jounin and above present.

"I wonder how things will pan out this time around?" The death god mused aloud, glancing over the missive before moving to leave.

* * *

The strategy room was swarming with Shinobi, all of high rank or status, a semi-tense atmosphere blanketed the room in anticipation, Iruka stood near the midst of it, eyes roaming over both familiar and unfamiliar faces. "Iruka-san." A quiet voice from his left called his attention, turning to greet the other man Iruka gave a polite smile, "It is good to see you again, Itachi-kun," also known as the largest change Iruka had made so far in the timeline. He had vaguely known that many Uchiha had been meant to die but by that point in time the butterfly effect of his presence had changed the outcome of the situation.

Or as was more accurate to say, when Iruka had still been a genin he had briefly been teammates with the younger shinobi, and taken him under his wing, teaching him when their Uchiha prejudiced sensei did not, this endeavour had not only given the Hokage motive to assign him as Academy teacher but it had also given Iruka a slight in with the Uchiha, enough so that when establishing the Academy he had been able to strongly involve the clan with the re-haul, strengthening the relation between the clan and village, unknowingly erasing plans of a coup and inconveniencing the person that had prompted Harry's entrance into this world.

"I have been hearing rumours that you were intending to step down from ANBU, is your appearance here a testament to this fact?" Iruka asked the clan heir quietly, respecting the private nature of the boy. "Yes, my seniors and superiors have been recommending it since I started nearing the five year mark." Itachi replied, stoic as ever, "Hokage-sama said this will also allow me the luxury of fewer assassination assignments." he added almost shyly, only Iruka could see the beginnings of a shy smile on the boy's face due to having known the pacifist as a young child. "I'm happy for you," is all Iruka said in response, expressing his true feelings for the matter, he had felt bad for the almost tortured soul of the child since they had met, and endeavoured to prevent it suffering any further pain. From what he could see without digging deep into Itachi's soul, it appeared to be at peace with itself, not rejecting its own nature.

All conversation was halted, however, when the Hokage and Clan heads entered the room.

– Earlier –

Shikaku sighed as he sat amongst the other clan heads in the council room, voices were loud as discussions descended into arguments over the situation currently concerning Konoha, namely the upcoming attack by Orochimaru and his surprising ally of Suna. "We should make a pre-emptive strike! Catch the bastards before they act and are off guard!" The rambunctious Inuzuka clan head yelled at the blank-faced Hyuga clan head, "That would be a foolish act Inuzuka-dono, we are aware of their plans and will be prepared for their attack, it is best to lull them into a false sense of security and strike them down when they act, this will also prevent disapproval sent out way for attacking what others see as our guests." The man replied simply, voice sedate yet filled with steel, daring her to disagree. Any further conflict was halted however when the hokage finally spoke.

"Enough." The strong voice rang throughout the room.

"We will not be attacking them first Tsume, nor will we wait patiently Hiashi. Shikaku, I give you the floor to explain." The Hokage said before seating himself, assigning the task of explaining the task to the Jounin Commander.

With a sigh the lazy man began speaking, "From the information gathered by Jiraiya-sama's spies and other sources we have determined that they intend to begin the attack during the finals of the chunin exam, likely during the match between Uchiha Sasuke and their Jinchuuriki, also known as Gaara of the sand, we have surmised that it is intended for One-tailed beast to be released within Konoha," he pauses slightly to allow the information to sink in.

"Beyond that we believe the Shinobi under Orochimaru's command, namely the Sound nin and Suna footsoldiers, will invade from the outside. Jiraiya-sama has predicted that snake summons will be used to aid the attacks on the border walls," here he pauses once more, deliberating the next words carefully before speaking them.

"Recent information shows us that the Kazekage is dead, a contact of Jiraiya-sama having found his body in the deserts of Suna, the Kazekage scheduled to appear is an imposter, and will most likely be Orochimaru himself," Shikaku was forced to stop after this as his fellow clan head voiced their disbelief, he understood their emotions, the idea of a Kage, the strongest of a village being so easily felled was frightening.

Once the fervour died down enough for him to speak he began outlining the proposed plan, "Some counter actions are already in place, Jiraiya-sama is present to reseal the One-tailed beast if necessary and his summons and a team of ANBU, including a Hyuga and Uchiha, have been scouring the village to find foreign seals, so far ten have been found and more are likely to be discovered or added in the coming weeks. To avoid detection however instead of destroying them our seal masters have been making small alterations to cause malfunctions," as he speaks a motion is given to the ANBU in the room who present a map to the clan head which mark the found seals on a map of Konoha.

"We will be increasing security around the border walls in the upcoming weeks and the escape tunnels bellow the village will be patrolled and searched to prevent tampering. During the finals it is planned for a large number of the audience to be Shinobi in disguise, it will also be the duty of a few select groups of hunter-nin to find and dispose of any enemy Shinobi attempting the same. The Hokage himself shall endeavour to stay near the disguised Kazekage, his ANBU guards as well as a few additions will be guarding him as discreetly as possible. The rest of the our forces will be in charge of evacuating children and civilians as well as defending against the rest of the enemy nin at the border walls," his part finished Shikaku slumped in his seat, now it was up to the other clan heads and Hokage to discuss the particulars and add details to plan, many minutes later they departed for the strategy room.

* * *

Upon their entrance the room descended into silence and Shikaku moved forward, standing tall and serious, to once more explain the situation and the plans. "It seems the next few weeks will be quite exciting, will they not Itachi-kun?" Iruka said in a murmur to the person next to him, absent-mindedly committing the jounin commanders words to memory, a simple "hn," was the only response to his words. The meeting quickly finished as people were being assigned to their roles, Iruka was to be one of the non-disguised Shinobi in the Arena stands during the finals, likely due to his connection with the genin participating.

'While the plan is good and all...' Iruka thought, eyes narrowing in slight annoyance, 'They don't suit my purposes entirely, hopefully I will be able to reach the jinchuuriki child before Jiraiya and alter the seal as I want to.' The kyubi would not be the only demon beast to gain a human form and companion, Iruka intended to merge every beast and host if possible, if only to further prevent the plan's of Uchiha Madara and by extension Kaguya Otsutsuki.

The plan itself was also flawed, because while Kaguya had turned herself into a beast she was not the ten tailed beast, and some how history had twisted itself to make people believe the nine tailed beasts were created by Hagoromo Otsutsuki using the ten tailed beast's essence. The nine tailed beasts had been tasked to defend and roam the earth by the ruler of hell, the true ten tailed beast, the beasts were this realm's version of Satan and his military commanders, originally being in charge of governing different parts of hell, the nine beasts were later honoured by being assigned to protect the earth against unnatural forces, originally to bring down Kaguya Otsutsuki.

As such neither Madara or Kaguya would succeed far in their goals, Harry only got involved as the original ending would have upset the balance of the world by preventing the tailed beasts from carrying out their duties.

That and Harry's inherent disgust at the Impure World Reincarnation technique, which forcefully pulled already passed souls from their peace, ripping them from death's domain and causing the soul immense pain and damage. Hiding a snarl at the thought of the so called jutsu, Iruka recalled what had occurred when Senju Tobirama had first used the technique and subsequently met an enraged Harry, the man was intelligent enough to never use it again and forbid it, but Harry knew it would be used many times again in the upcoming years.

* * *

During the month building up to the chunin exam's final stage two opposing forces both prepared for large scale operations within Konoha's walls, the enemies trying to sabotage the village's defences and Konoha's shinobi working to sabotage and correct their opponents' those efforts discreetly.

On the other hand in the meanwhile the Konoha genin innocently prepared for the tournament, or if not participating trained as usual, without worry or knowledge of an impending invasion. Naruto trained with Jiraiya, learning about advanced fuinjutsu when the man wasn't busy and practising elemental manipulation when he was. Sasuke worked with his elder brother on his swordsmanship and clan jutsu, being taught how to fight without relying on the Sharingan alone. Shikamaru and Shino trained with their parents, mostly focusing on their clan jutsus and Neji trained with his genin team. The Suna siblings however were aware of the planned attack and as such were preparing their parts. The Sound genin had 'officially' dropped out of the tournament but in actuality had been killed by Gaara.

Iruka had done some preparations of his own, giving Mizuki instructions on how to move the Academy's students, placing compulsions in the Sand siblings minds to take Gaara and leave the arena for a forested area rather than release him in the middle of the city as they had been instructed to, hopefully allowing Iruka plenty of time to access the jinchuuriki's seal without worrying about Jiraiya, who would most likely be busy against some of Orochimaru's larger snake summons roaming the village wherein he had been stationed to await the One-tailed beast's release. The only thing Iruka could not account for was what would occur to the Hokage and Orochimaru, as he did not know the specifics of how the battle had taken place, only that the Hokage had died in the original timeline.

Hopefully there would be no surprises or unexpected variables.

* * *

So... Hi. So I finished my first year at uni and now have three months of holiday and happened to get in the mood to write. I've finished chapters 8 and 9 but I'm still feel a bit iffy about those, I've rewritten them twice now, and chapter 10 is still in it's developmental stage, soooo, don't expect either chapter 8 or 9 for another while but I should get 8 out in the next few months if all goes well. Also with all those uni essays I've been writing my style has probably changed a bit again and may be more academic than story telling. If I missed any spelling errors or miss used words sorry. Anyhoo, hope this chapter is good. ;)


	9. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

Today was the day of the Chunin Exam Finals and Naruto could feel his blood pumping in both anticipation and excitement. During the last month Jiraiya had taught him his father's Rasengan and he had received a summoning contract, albeit not the one Jiraiya had intended him to have, as it had been the Kyubi who had given him a contract. The Kitsune Demon summoning contract.

He remembered it as if it had been just yesterday, Jiraiya was just about to get him to sign the contract when Kurama had called out for him to stop and quickly pulled him into his mind scape, almost giving Jiraiya a heart attack.

– Three weeks prior –

"Was there a point in that?" Naruto said in irritation, sitting cross legged on the water that covered the ground in his mind.

" **Yes,"** the powerful voice of the demon beast said, **"I could not let you sign that summoning contract, as you already have one."** This caught Naruto's attention, "I do? Since when? And more importantly for what?" he questioned, body pushed forward in attention.

" **Yes, you do, likely since the sealing,"** The fox began, and a realisation began to be formed in Naruto's mind, "You can't mean..." he whispered, **"Your realization is correct, you are the summoner of my contract, and by extension the Kitsune(fox) Demon contract."** Kurama confirmed his realisation, "Those that mean I can summon you outside of the seal? And is there a difference between the fox contract and Kitsune demon contract?" The young boy asked, the demon fox chuckling at his curiosity.

" **This is only possible because of the God of Death's blessing, that you can summon my essence into a body, of any size, outside of the seal; if the seal were any different this would not be possible without your death, but my summoned body will function much like one of your shadow clones."** The demon explained calmly, laying down so his snout sat before Naruto, his breath acting like wind, ruffling the boy's hair and clothing.

" **The fox contract is a contract with normal fox summons, similar to the toad summons, the Kitsune demon contract allows the summoning of fox demons like myself as well as fox yokai, I am the amalgamation of both to a point, but all demonic or spiritual fox creatures fall under my domain, and many fall under the summoning contracts domain."** Upon finishing his speech the fox demon sat up and pulled a scroll out of seemingly nowhere, dropping it above Naruto. As it fell it shrank, becoming a normal size when landing in Naruto's lap, carefully opening the genin could see his name written at the bottom, it was the summoning contract.

" **When I push you out of this place that scroll will be before you, and you will have to finalise the contract by adding a thumbprint in your blood besides your name."** The demon said and not even a second later Naruto woke up, the scroll on his lap as was promised.

– Present –

Needless to say Jiraiya had not been very amused when Naruto properly signed the kitsune demon contract and even less so once he realised exactly what the boy had signed, scolding the boy for trusting anything the nine tailed beast had given him, he would have reacted far worse had he realised the contract allowed Naruto to summon the Kyubi himself.

However that was of little importance right now, as the adrenaline continued coursing through his veins when Naruto moved to face Neji in the arena, the first match to officially begin any second now. Naruto had already formulated his plan on what he would do, knowing what it meant to be up against the Hyuga's gentle fist. As such he had planned ahead by practising long ranged jutsu and the summoning technique, having learnt how to summon Kurama at various sizes and met a few of his other potential summons.

"I wish you good luck in our battle, Naruto." Neji said, giving a respectful bow which was quickly mimicked by Naruto, "Yeah, may the best shinobi win," He replied, the two moving to stand in basic stances as the exam proctor began counting down to the match.

"Three, Two, One... Begin!"

Both sides sprang into action, Naruto creating three shadow clones to charge at Neji whilst he retreated backwards to avoid any potential Juken strikes, and Neji moving to dispel the clones. "Futon: Daitopppa!" Naruto shouted as he took in breath and released a large blast of wind, blowing Neji further away from him. "Summoning Jutsu: Fire Kitsune!" Biting his thumb and pressing onto the ground Naruto called out one of his summons, this one a fox demon of normal size seemingly made out of fire. "Agni attack!" He ordered and foxed obeyed, it's three tails spreading out as it took in a large breath before releasing a fire ball not unlike the one produced by the Uchiha's prized jutsu.

Neji moved quickly to dodge once his surprise at facing a fox summon faded, he ran to directly attack the shinobi and fox duo, chakra crackling on his finger tips as he managed to engage the two in a physical fight. Naruto and the fox however proved very agile and the combination of dodging streams of fire and Naruto clones quickly wore down the Hyuga's stamina. It was after a particularly close call that almost had Neji's hair burnt to a crisp that the boy surrendered, allowing Naruto to emerge victorious. "We did it! Agni we won!" Naruto cried in joy, hugging the flaming body of the fox to his person, by some miracle not being burnt by the heated flames.

Up in the arena stands Naruto's genin sensei sighed at him. How the boy decided it would be a good idea to use a fox summon in Konoha he did not know, but at least, Kakashi mused, the prejudices against foxes had gone down significantly since Naruto's popularity had raised, so at least the boy did not need to worry about being hunted down for consorting with foxes.

Sarutobi's thoughts similarly followed along the same track as Kakashi's the only exception being that he had prior knowledge of the genin's new summoning contract, "Using a summoning jutsu while only a genin, what have you been feeding your genin Hokage-dono?" Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage asked, causing Sarutobi to unwittingly tense at the reminder that the traitor that was his student sat next to him. The old man had no idea how no one in Suna had not noticed the switch out of their Kage, Orochimaru acted nothing like the now deceased Kage. "I could say the same to you Kazekage-dono, the sand user, your son, is quite impressive himself." Sarutobi replied without missing a beat, chuckling at his own words.

Iruka congratulated Naruto on his win before the genin returned to the competitors waiting box, returning to his seat besides Itachi, Iruka spoke, "That was an interesting battle, no Itachi-kun? I did not expect Naruto to use a summon, let alone a fox summon," The stoic male besides him gave little response bar a nod but Iruka had long grown used to the other's quiet nature and didn't mind.

"The next battle will the Shikamaru against one of the sand genin, after that your little brother will go out, I imagine you are looking forward to this battle?" He inquired, even though they both knew that particular battle would be cut short, with Orochimaru likely beginning his attack at that point. Instead of replying the two sat in silence, watching the long and tense battle between the Nara and Suna genin, ending due to the former's forfeit. "Disappointing but not unexpected, Shikamaru could have easily won by that point but it is likely that his laziness acted out at the last second." Iruka told Itachi dryly, knowing the boy's nature very well.

When Sasuke and Gaara descended to the floor of the arena Iruka straightened in his seat, eyes roaming the stands around him for suspicious movement, two minutes into the fight the enemy struck, a genjutsu intending to put the arena to sleep being activated. Immediately both Suna and Konoha nin sprung into action and battle. Iruka absently noted that the Hokage and Kazekage stood atop the roof of the arena inside a sealed box, the Hokage's ANBU standing outside helplessly attempting to bring down the barrier. However his focus was on the one tail's Jinchuuriki, who was taken away by his siblings and followed by team seven into the forest, trusting the jounin sensei to care for the rest of the genin present and seeing Itachi already aiding in battle Iruka moved to follow the genin towards the forest.

Iruka watched as team seven engaged against two of the three sand siblings, and moved with the intent to grab Gaara when he felt _it_. Almost crashing to the ground Iruka's head snapped back towards the arena, "It couldn't be..." he whispered, eyes narrowing he willed himself to see the Hokage's fight against Orochimaru, it was as he had suspected, the Impure Resurrection Jutsu, gritting his teeth in anger, eyes glowing a bright green due to the sheer level of killing intent he currently emitted. Turning on the genin, he watched as Gaara released the Ichibi, further grinding his teeth in his annoyance he did what he had to. Appearing between the genin he turned to team seven.

"Naruto, right now you are the only one who can fight the Ichibi, you need to use the Kyubi's power in anyway you can to prevent it from reaching the village, Sakura, Sasuke, you two need to help by defending Naruto from the other two Suna nin, I need to head back to village as something worse is happening there, do you understand my order?" He bit out, his voice strict and serious, the three genin straightened their stances and saluted, eyes hardened and battle ready. "Good, I will return with aid as soon as possible, good luck." With those parting words he was gone, running full speed towards the location of the Hokage and Snake Sannin's battle.

"Sakura, Sasuke, behind me," Naruto said biting his thumb, his team mates doing as told, standing behind the blond's back. "Hold onto me! **Summoning Jutsu: Kyubi no Kitsune!** " Naruto cried out, smearing the blood from his thumb onto the ground. A giant puff of smoke followed by a roar and a pulse of power going over Konoha. There before the Ichibi stood none other than the Kyubi itself, team seven stood upon it's head.


	10. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

The sudden roar and immense chakra pulse made everyone in Konoha stop, the battles pausing as people saw the smoke cloud fading above the forest to reveal not one _but two_ tailed beasts facing each other. The Ichibi facing Konoha while the Kyubi stood protectively before the village. This still did not last long however as the enemy forces restarted their assault. "Ignore it! Focus on driving out the enemy forces!" Jiraiya's voice cried amongst the Shinobi, and the battles began once more.

"The Kyubi?! But how in the world?!" Temari gasped as she stood beneath the two great beasts, her fan tightly gripped in one hand, her face slack and eyes wide in shock. Her hand trembled as her fear turned into adrenaline, composing herself and steeling her nerves she moved, using her fan and wind chakra fly up.

"Yah!" With a mighty cry she slashed her fan at the trio atop the Kyubi's head, sending a blade of wind hurtling towards them.

"Behind!" Sasuke moved forward, his hands flashing symbols for the Uchiha signature fire-type jutsu, expelling a large fire ball that engulfed the wind blade and blew Temari back.

"Naruto, you deal with the Jinchuuriki, Sakura and I will deal with the other two!"

Without a second glance Sakura and Sasuke jumped off the Kyubi's head, Sasuke going to engage the wind user and Sakura moving to intercept the puppet user.

"Yosh!" Naruto cried as he crouched forwards, hands tightly gripping the fur on the Kyubi's head. "Let's get this fucker, Kurama!"

" **LET'S!"** With a mighty roar the Kyubi sprang forth, the Ichibi not far behind as it madly leapt to engage the Fox.

* * *

 **'How DARE this mortal...'** Iruka snarled in his head as he ran towards the battle sight of the Hokage and his student. Rather than going up to and smashing through the barrier Naruto would likely have done, Iruka instead used a skill he hadn't since entering this world, teleportation. Arriving just in time to block an attack on the Hokage from one of the two resurrected former Hokage.

"Iruka-kun, how are you here?" The old Hokage's eyes widened but Iruka ignored him in favour of looking at the two husks containing departed souls. Hashirama reeked of confusion at being pushed back by an outsider whilst Tobirama stood in place, his weapons lowered, his face relaxed in relief due to his recognition of Iruka. While the two resurrected Hokage couldn't feel it, due to the nature of the impure resurrection jutsu, their souls were ragged and in agony, almost torn due to being forcefully pulled from the realm of the dead. Behind them stood Orochimaru, his eyes wide and pupils trembling in terror, the sheer malice in the killing intent emitted by Iruka, his instincts screaming at him to run.

" **How dare you desecrate the souls of the dead, mortal,** " Iruka's voice was powerful and deep, it was the voice of an Angry God. Bright green energy swirled Iruka's being, attacking and engulfing the resurrected Hokage, whereas Hashirama tried to uselessly to fight the green energy, Tobirama willingly stepped into it. The energy swirled and brightened, cocooning the two, as it pulsed waves of energy were released, forcing Orochimaru and the Third Hokage to retreat backwards. Iruka's eyes glowed and phantom wings unfurled behind him. He lifted a clenched fist towards the two cocoons and opened it. Almost simultaneously this caused a final pulse to emit from the cocoons and they imploded, leaving nothing in their place, the souls inside purified and sent back to the afterlife.

Orochimaru almost shook in terror, he recognised the shinobi from the forest, but this unimaginable power awakened a primal fear within him. "How are you... how can you?!" He cried out in horror, He limply held out the Kusanagi before him in defence. Eyes flashing between where the two resurrected Hokage had been and to the... _entity_ that had destroyed them.

Similarly the Hokage stood in shock, mind not comprehending the sight before him, "How are you doing this Iruka, what are you doing?" He bit out, still stood in a defensive stance, but fresh sweat dotted his brow at the pressure emitted by the man before him, swallowing around a lump in his throat.

But Iruka ignored him, charging at the snake sannin and easily knocking aside his blade, his deathly green eyes peering into the man's very soul with a glare that could kill. **"It is with luck that you still hold a purpose in this world mortal, else I would have destroyed your soul,"**

A scream was pulled from Orochimaru's throat as Iruka pushed a hand into the man's body, his fingers weren't gentle as they clawed into his soul. Orochimaru's head arched back, his hands spasming uncontrollably as they began to show signs of decay. Only when the decay reached the Sannin's elbows did Iruka withdraw.

Turning slightly to face both men, Iruka spoke **"Neither of you shall recall the truth of what occurred in this place,"** his voice held an unbreakable command, speaking directly to the souls of those present. And then he was gone and Orochimaru could do nothing but flee as quickly as possible, smashing through the barrier and taking his guards with him, the ANBU not following to instead rush towards their leader.

"I am fine, I-" He started but suddenly found himself tongue tied, "I managed to seal his arms so that he can no longer use them." The words told of a false story implanted in his mind and his ANBU nodded, instead the Hokage turned to look into the distance, at the ongoing battle between tailed beasts. "What do you suppose we do about that?" he added, his ANBU staying silent, also having no clue as to what actions to take.

* * *

Detour aside Iruka was now prepared to complete his original objective, and was not a minute too late, as he arrived just as Naruto and the Kyubi managed to dislodge Gaara from the Ichibi's head, causing the sand beast to dissolve, Gaara falling towards the ground. Seizing his chance Iruka sprung up to grab the falling Jinchuuriki and bound his body in chakra sealing and containing seals. Placing the wrapped boy on the ground Iruka gripped the child's head where the seal sat and pushed his power into it, reshaping it to be similar to Naruto's, allowing the merging of the demon beast and Jinchuuriki. This one would take less time, not only because the original unstable seal had caused a merge to some degree but also because the Ichibi had only one tail of power compared to the Kyubi's nine. It would take three years at most to be complete.

Iruka turned to look behind him and saw the members of team seven, Naruto atop the Kyubi mouthed stretched in a large grin, Sakura and Sasuke were on the ground alongside the unconscious and tied up bodies of two Suna nin, both looked happy and proud of themselves. Iruka couldn't help the fond smile on his face, his mood lightening at the sight of his students.

"We did it! We protected Konoha!" Sakura rejoiced as Naruto joined them on the ground as Kyubi dispelled himself. Naruto sprang at his teammates, pulling them into a celebratory hug. The trio laughed together but soon exhaustion caught up and they instead found themselves supporting each other. Iruka walked up to them carrying the unconscious Gaara as he did so. Only minutes later did the ANBU arrive. Of instead of transporting the three genin to the Hospital, the ANBU delivered team seven plus Iruka to the council to report.

Naruto was questioned first, mostly about how and why the Kyubi had turned up. Needless to say Jiraiya, Sarutobi and the council members were not all too amused about Naruto's ability to summon the Kyubi itself, especially considering the boy had known this fact but not informed anyone. However all good things must come to an end and now Iruka stood before the council to give his report. It was here however that Iruka realised that in his fury at Orochimaru's use of the resurrection jutsu he forgot to establish an alibi or reason for leaving the scene.

It was only due to his quick wit that he was able to come up the excuse of leaving to search for a seal able to contain the Ichibi or find Jiraiya to do it for him, luckily the seals he had placed on Gaara reinforced his story.

Hours later, a wizened old man sat alone in his office smoking a pipe, his eyes weary and exhaustion coating his entire being, Konoha would have a new Hokage by the end of the week, once Tsunade was convinced to take the hat.

Far away in Otogakure the painstaking cries of a man could be heard, screaming in agony as his arms failed him, unable to move or feel yet lashing out in a most painful punishment. "Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto spoke softly, eyes wide in horror as he watched his powerful master almost crumble before him. "Kabuto... get me... a new... body... NOW!" The man cried out, startling his young follower, who quickly moved to obey. Two weeks later Orochimaru would be in a new body and his arms would regain their ability but the memory of the pain and it's association with the impure resurrection technique never left him.

Iruka was surprised, but not entirely, at the news of the Hokage's retirement, regardless of what he did to alter the timeline some things remained constants, Tsunade becoming Hokage was likely one of those focal points in time that could not be changed easily, like the Kyubi's attack. However now that the excitement had died down Iruka could seriously use some rest, the situation had been less enjoyable than originally hoped, especially when that snake bastard had used that disgusting jutsu and forced him to intervene.

Grimacing Iruka decided to instead focus on helping out with the repairs around Konoha, some damage having been sustained during the assault on Konoha.

Suna had surrendered as soon as Orochimaru, and in turn his shinobi, had left, and upon realising their Kazekage was dead quickly begged for forgiveness, those left alive were sent back to Suna, and as a show of grace the Hokage had allowed Gaara to return with them, mostly because he had become decisively less homicidal since Iruka's interference with the seal, as well as him and Naruto striking up a quick friendship when the latter visited him under Kurama's request.

A few days later Sarutobi would be officially appointing Tsunade as the fifth Hokage. The largest change in the timeline to occur other than Sarutobi's continued survival was Sasuke not fleeing from the village as a missing nin, Naruto however was still set to leave for a training trip with Jiraiya...

"What do you mean leave the village!" Naruto cried out in shock, after being informed by the new Hokage that he was to be sent out of the village to travel and train with Jiraiya.

"There are whispers of an organisation made up of missing-nin which is searching for and attacking Jinchuuriki, me and Tsunade concluded the best way to avoid them was to train you while in motion, keeping your location obscured while still ensuring your skills do not rust and keep the village safe, it's not like we won't be coming back to the village for three whole years, we can obviously visit every few months." The toad sannin explained, unfazed at the teen's reaction.

"But... but... what about Sakura and Sasuke and team seven? How can I just abandon them to go away on my own?!" The fox boy yelled in protest, Tsunade sighed at this, moving from her desk to stand before him, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You won't be abandoning them, they will also be training, I've already decided to take Sakura as my own apprentice and Itachi was planning on taking over Sasuke's training in light of the incident with Orochimaru." The woman told him calmly, confident that she could convince the younger boy of what to do. Naruto opened his mouth to protest further but stopped short, he could see her point, and with a sigh he conceded to the order, he would be leaving the village in two days.


End file.
